Month: August 2018

With a SW wind about 12 mph but increasing, John W set the first beat to 5, then 9, 3, 2, 4, 8, 6, 7 (he couldn’t find No 1 in the box!) and back through the start.

Pursuit Race
First back through the line were the early starting Oppies of Jemima and Ed with Ron in his Mirror hanging on to 3rd place. Ominously (for them) the next three boats were Ellen & Newton (RS200), Paul R (Aero) and Julian B (OK) with Simon B (Blaze) fast approaching. At the gun the two fastest boats on paper were through to the lead and the final placings were –
1st Simon; 2nd Paul R; 3rd Jemima; 4th Ellen & Newton; 5th Julian B; 6th Mike Tr, and interestingly Ed was 7th.

Handicap Race
The wind increased for the second race of the day and first man back though the line was Paul R (Aero), but only two seconds in front of Simon (Blaze) with Julian B (OK) about one minute further back. Hugh (Laser) was next through in 4th place just ahead of Newton & Ellen (RS200) and Mike Tr (Laser). Karen and Mark B (Lasers) crossed the line in 7th and 8th places about one minute ahead of Rick in another Laser, who was just ahead of Dave & Ann (Leader). Another minute elapsed before Alistair S (Laser) came along and he was nearly one minute ahead of the next man Ron (Mirror), who in turn was a minute ahead of Dean & Nick in the Vago, but they were only just ahead of Chris H (Comet). Two minutes later Jemima (Oppie) and Dave P (Mirror) crossed the line together only 10 seconds ahead of Ed in the other Oppie and bringing up the rear of the fleet was Sally & Nev in the second Leader out today. So the fleet was well strung out, but tended to be in small groups rather than solitary boats so everyone had some someone to race against.

By the end of the second lap Simon had taken the lead from Paul with Julian B still 3rd, but Newton & Ellen and Mike Tr had passed Hugh to move up to 4th and 5th places. Karen was still 7th but Rick had just got his nose in front of Mark to cross in 8th place. Dean & Nick gained a place to move up to 12th and Sally & Nev moved up two places. Dave P, Jemima and Ed all received the gun at the end of the lap.

At the end of the third and final lap Simon had increased his lead, but Paul was still 2nd and the only change in order behind them was Sally & Nev getting past Chris H. Ron retired on this lap.
The final positions on the water were –
1st Paul R; 2nd Simon B; 3rd Julian B; 4th Newton & Ellen; 5th Mike Tr; 6th Hugh

On handicap the first three retain their positions, but Jemima moves up to 4th pushing Newton & Ellen down to 5th and Mike Tr to 6th.

Thanks to John W and the OOD Team of Bob H, Chris S, Peter R and Steve P.

With only one race left the Summer Series races are finely poised.

In the Pursuit Series, Chris H leads with 10 points, Karen has 12 and Mike Tr 14 points, so it is all down to the wind on the last race of the series. It will probably need to be very windy for Karen and Mike to catch Chris but it is certainly possible.

In the Handicap Series Chris H leads again with 11 points, Ron has 12, Mike Tr 14 and Newton & Ellen on 16 points. Again it probably depends upon the wind in the final race of the series. If it is a light wind day then it will probably be between Chris and Ron, but if the wind gets up then Mike or Newton & Ellen could pip them.

It was a good wind tonight coming from the SW about 12-13 mph. Curtis set the first beat down to 4 then 1, 2, 9, 8, 5, 6, 7 and back through the start.

There were 20 out tonight with a mixed bag (net) of boats. As usual the dominant class (in number anyway) was the Laser and the first four back across the line were Mike Tr, Ellen, Mark B and Ralph. Again as usual, the first non-Laser was Newton in his Solo crossing in 5th place well clear of Hugh (Laser), but he was only just ahead of Dave & Ann (Leader), John H (Laser with the same sail number as the leader not the Leader, that other confusion is the Leader and the RS200!) and Dean & Nick (unmistakeable in more ways than one in their Vago). Then there was another medley of closely spaced boats led (but not for long) by Mike A (Lightning) followed by Sally & Nev (Leader), Chris H (Comet), Paul H (Laser) and Dave I (Radial) and Jeremy (Laser). After about a minute along came another motley trio, Mike T (Radial) Dave P (National 12) and Ron (Mirror) with Joe and John behind them trying to get to grips with a Sport 14. Cheerfully at the back of the fleet was Jemima in her Oppie not worrying about her apparent last place.

On the second lap Ellen seized the lead from Mike Tr with the four boats immediately behind them holding station. John H gained a place passing Dave & Ann with Dean & Nick behind them steady (for the first time ever) in 9th spot. Sally & Nev passed Mike A and Chris H passed both of them and Paul H went one better by passing all of them. Jeremy got past Dave I to gain a place as did Dave P and Ron. Joe & John and Jemima serenely carried on at the rear of the fleet except Jemima did not carry on for long as she received the gun at the end of the lap.

At the end of the last lap there had been no change in the order of the first eight boats, but Chris H had caught Dean & Nick to take 9th place. Mike A had repassed Sally & Nev and Mike T had repassed Ron. The final order on the water was –
1st Ellen; 2nd Mike Tr; 3rd Mark b; 4th Ralph; 5th Newton; 6th Hugh

On handicap – she’s done it again ! Jemima moves up to take 1st place pushing Ellen down to 2nd with Mike Tr 3rd . Newton leapfrogs both Mark and Ralph to take 4th place.

Thanks to Curtis and the OOD Team of Fraser, John H, Martin W and Mike C

Gillette 18 – 15th August 2018

With a SW wind of 14-16 mph and veering between SW and SSW, Chris H set the first beat to 9 then 5, 3, 2, 4, 6, 7 and back through the start.

18 starters tonight and Simon B (Blaze) was first back through the line well ahead of Julian B (OK), then came the Lasers of Karen, Ellen, Hugh and Mark. Newton (Solo) was through in 7th place followed by another three Lasers helmed by Ralph, Mike Tr and Rick. The first two-man boat, the Vago of Dean & Nick, crossed the line in 11th place followed by a trio of Leaders led by Nev & Mike, then Dave & Ann and Sally & Stuart. Right behind them were Paul H and Curtis in Lasers with Bill in his K1 and Sam in her Topper bringing up the rear of the fleet. She received the gun at the end of her first lap, but well done for going out in the frisky conditions.

At the end of the second lap Simon was well ahead and Ellen had moved up to 2nd place by passing both Karen and Julian. Mark and Newton had both got past Hugh to move up to 5th and 6th positions and Hugh and Ralph crossed the line abreast of one another. Dean & Nick moved up to 10th by passing Rick, and Curtis gained four places to move up to 12th. There was no change in the order of the Leaders and they were comfortably (well relatively so given the wind conditions!) ahead of Bill.

Crossing the line at the end of the last lap Simon was five minutes clear of Julian B who had regained 2nd place by repassing Ellen. Ralph and Mike Tr had both passed Mark and Newton to finish in 5th and 6th places, but behind them Newton, Mark and Hugh were virtually together crossing the line ! Nev & Mike had gained three places by passing Rick, Curtis and Dean & Nick. Dave & Ann also got past Dean & Nick, but it was a very close thing with only four seconds between them and only another three seconds back to Sally & Stuart.
Apart from the two lads at the front who got away there was some really close racing throughout the fleet.

The positions on the water were –
1st Simon; 2nd Julian B; 3rd Ellen; 4th Karen; 5th Ralph; 6th Mike Tr

On Handicap the first three will keep their positions, but Newton will move up to 4th pushing Karen down to 5th and Ralph to 6th.

Thanks to Chris H and the OOD team of Issy, Jess B, Monica and Simon R.

Gillette 17 – 8th August 2018

There was a blustery SW wind tonight blowing about 14 mph and Roland S set a long first beat down to 3 then 1, 5, 6,7 and back through the start.

There were 20 starters, but not for long as Hugh bent his knee back just after the start and had to retire. First back through the line was Ralph (Laser) followed closely by Mark B, Karen and Ellen, all in Lasers. Newton (Solo) came through in 5th with another two Lasers behind him, namely Alistair S and Will P. The first double hander, Dave & Ann (Leader) was next through in 8th place with the Lasers of Richard H and Rick following in 9th and 10th places. Then along came the second double hander in the persons of Dean & Nick in the Vago, followed by Chris H (Comet) and Mike A (Lightning). Sally & Stuart out in the second Leader were next through about 30 seconds ahead of Ron (single handed Mirror), who was followed by Alistair J in another Vago. Finally the Toppers of Rhys, Ollie and Emily crossed the line ahead of Phoebe in an Oppie. Ollie and Phoebe received the gun at the end of their first lap.

On the second lap there was no change in the order of the first five boats, but Richard H and Rick both gained three places to move up to 6th and 7th places. Sally & Stuart gained four places to 10th just behind Dean & Nick in 11th place. Emily received the gun at the end of this lap and Alistair J retired.

No change in the first six on the third lap, but Dave & Ann and Sally & Stuart got past Rick to move to 7th and 8th places. Will regained a couple of places to recover to 10th and Mike A passed Chris H to move up one place to 11th. Chris, Ron, Alistair S and Rhys all received the gun at the end of the lap.

On the last lap the only surprising change in the order was Dean & Nick rocketing up three places to cross the line in 8th place, perhaps they found where the spinnaker was stashed! There was a really close finish for 3rd place with Karen crossing the line just two seconds ahead of Ellen.

The final order on the water was –
1st Ralph; 2nd Mark; 3rd Karen; 4th Ellen; 5th Newton; 6th Richard H

On handicap the first two retain their positions but Newton moves up to 3rd pushing Karen and Newton down to 4th and 5th and Ron despite finishing a lap earlier moves up to 6th.

Thanks to Roland S and the OOD Team of Andrew B, Julian W, Martin W, Nev and Ryan S.

This morning there was a fine drizzle which became more persistent as the morning went on. The wind was about 13 mph from the SW but this gradually got stronger with gusts and sudden changes in direction. Mark set the first beat down to 4, then 9, 5, 2, 6, 7 and back through the start.

Pursuit Race
With a stronger wind the Lasers of Karen and Mike Tr were through to the lead by the end of the first lap, but Nev and Chris H in their Comets were still hanging on to 3rd and 4th places with Dave & Anne (Leader) in 5th and Mike A (Lightning) in 6th. At the gun Karen still led from Mike Tr , but Newton & Ellen (RS200) were up to 3rd place with Dave & Ann in 4th place and Nev in 5th place. From 6th to 9th was very close and difficult to judge as boats were on different tacks after rounding No 5, but the contenders were Mike A, Ralph, Adrian and Chris H.

Handicap Race
All 12 boats from the first race stayed on the water for the second, but the wind was getting friskier and unreliable which resulted in a number of capsizes. Alistair and Nev were the first to go in, at the same time up near 4, after a sudden wind change. Ellen & Newton led at the end of the first lap but they were not far in front of Karen with Adrian (Rooster) about 30 seconds further back in 3rd place. Mike Tr and Ralph came through fairly close together in 4th and 5th places with William B in another Laser in 6th place. Dave & Ann (Leader) in 7th were about one minute behind them and one minute ahead of Mike A (Lightning) with Chris H (Comet) in 9th and Sam (Topper) in 10th. Alistair and Nev decided to retire.

On the second lap the first two maintained their places, but Ralph had moved up to 3rd after capsizes by Mike Tr and Adrian, but they recovered well to cross the line in 4th and 5th places. William B was still in 6th but he had also suffered a capsize! Dave & Ann crossed in 7th, but Chris had got past Mike A after Mike capsized. Sam was still plugging along at the rear of the fleet and she received the finish gun at the end of this lap.

At the end of the last lap Ellen & Newton crossed the line in 1st place but Ralph had gained another place to finish 2nd ahead of Karen in 3rd. Dave & Ann went for a dip but got going again, but Mike A capsized again gybing round 2 and impaled both mast and boom in the mud!

The final order on the water was –
1st Ellen & Newton; 2nd Ralph; 3rd Karen; 4th Mike Tr; 5th Adrian; 6th William B

On handicap no change in the first four, but Chris H moves up to 5th with Dave & Ann up to 6th.

Thanks to Mark B and the OOD Team of David M, Dean, Gary W and Mark D.

It was another light wind morning about 3- 5 mph from the SE, but variable.

Pursuit Race
There were 10 starters, but they only managed a lap and a bit before the hooter sounded to finish the race. The final order was –
1st Mike Tr – Laser; 2nd Ron – Mirror; 3rd Dave I – Laser; 4th Rhys – Radial; 5th Chris H – Comet; 6th John W – Laser

Handicap Race
After taking bronze Dave sat this second one out to give the others a chance and he was joined by Rick who wanted to catch his wind or anyone else’s wind for that matter!

First man back through the line was Ralph intent on maintaining his form of last Wednesday night’s victory. Mike Tr was 2nd about 30 seconds ahead of Monica in her Europe and Will sailing single handed in the Enterprise came through in 4th place with Chris H in 5th . After another gap of about 30 seconds Rhys crossed the line in 5th place just ahead of John W, who in turn was about 30 seconds ahead of Ron.

On the second lap there was no change in order although the gap between Chris in 5th and Rhys in 6th place had increased considerably. I suspect the rear of the fleet had found the RSC Sargasso Sea!

By the end of the third lap Mike Tr had caught and passed Ralph to take the lead. The only other change was John W passing Rhys and they and Ron received the gun at the end of the lap.

On the final lap Chris H made up three places to move up to 2nd, although it was very close finish between the first three boats and Monica was not far behind in 4th place.

The final order on the water was –
1st Mike Tr; 2nd Chris H; 3rd Ralph; 4th Monica; 5th Will; 6th John W; 7th Rhys; 8th Ron

(normally go to six places but it seems a shame to leave the last two out)

On Handicap the crafty Comet will take the spoils with Chris H moving to 1st place and Monica to 2nd spot. The leader on the water Mike Tr will drop to 3rd with Ralph 4th and Will 5th (the only one not to change his position). Ron will gain two places to move up to 6th.

This may have been Rhys’ first race in a Radial, so well done to him.

Thanks to James and the OOD Team of Bea, Chris M, Chris S, Monica & Mark R and Nev.

With a SW wind of about 8 mph Paul R set a first beat to O, then X, 9, 5, 6, 7 and back through the start. You needed to be there to know where O and X were. Luckily there was a shortage of Os and Xs otherwise it would have been first to round three in a row wins the race!

There were 22 starters tonight and a good turnout of Juniors. There looked to be the prospect of a good battle between Ben and Joe in Radials, Ollie and Sam in Toppers and Jemima, Ed and Phoebe in Oppies. It was the first race in the series for Sam, Ollie and Phoebe – so welcome to the fun.

At the end of the first lap a quartet of Lasers, Karen, Mike Tr, Ralph and Rick occupied the first four places (as it was a quartet it would have been difficult for them to occupy any more places, perhaps less if two of them were on the same boat), Newton (Solo) was not far behind in 5th place followed by another two Lasers helmed by Mark and John H with Dean & Nick (Vago) not far behind them. Then came the Radials of Ben and Joe split by only a second across the line followed closely by Paul H (Laser). Bob (Solo), Richard H and Jeremy (both in Lasers) were next through with Monica just behind them in her Europe telling them what they were doing wrong! Chris & Carol (Sport 14) sailed through in a little pocket of their own about one minute ahead of Ron (Mirror) who was trying to stay ahead of the junior battle at the back. This was led by Ed just ahead of Jemima, both in Oppies, and they were a little way ahead of Ollie and Sam in Toppers and Phoebe in her Oppie .

On the second lap Ralph managed to get past Mike Tr to move up to 2nd place, Rick was still 4th but Mark passed Newton to move up to 5th place. Joe and Paul H had both passed Ben to move up to 9th and 10th and Richard H and Jeremy had got past Bob (they must have taken note of Monica’s advice!), particularly as she passed Bob as well. Ed and Jemima still led at the back with Ollie and Sam in the same positions. Phoebe had been given the gun at the end of the first lap and Ollie received the gun at the end of this lap.

There was no change in the positions of the first eight boats on the third lap although Paul H crossed the line dead level with Dean & Nick for the 8th place. Richard H and Jeremy both moved up two places to 10th and 11th and Monica retired (job well done). Ben had repassed Joe and further back Chris & Carol had gained a place. They and Ron, Ed, Jemima and Sam all received the gun at the end of the lap.

At the end of the fourth and final lap Ralph just managed to pip Karen across the line, but that was the only change with the leading boats. Joe had a good last lap passing Ben and Jeremy to make up two places and that was the only other change in the order.

The final order on the water was –
1st Ralph; 2nd Karen; 3rd Mike Tr; 4th Rick; 5th Mark; 6th Newton.

On handicap Ralph and Karen keep their places but Ed moves up to 3rd with Newton 4th, Jemima 5th and Mike Tr 6th.

Well done to Ralph for his first victory of the series and to Rick for his best position of the series. Well done also to the junior sailors especially Sam, Ollie and Phoebe contesting their first race in the series.

Thanks to Paul R and the OOD team of Mark P, Monica R, Nigel J, Patrick C and Sophie F-P.

Another hot sunny day with very little wind about 3 mph from the NNW and very few sailors!

Pursuit Race
Only five starters this morning and early starter Chris H managed to stay in front for the allotted time.
The final order was –
1st Chris H – Comet; 2nd Newton & Julian – RS200; 3rd Mike Tr – Laser; 4th Dave I – Laser; 5th Franz – Laser.

Handicap Race
With Dave I and Franz not contesting this second race the fleet was down to three!
The race was just three laps and the order for all three laps and hence the final order was – 1st Mike Tr; 2nd Chris H; 3rd Newton & Ellen and this did not change when handicaps were applied.

Thanks to Julian B and the OOD Team of Chris S, Dean, Gary and Pavlo.